EchoStar has confirmed that it is in discussions with its Dish debt-holders in a move to reduce its financial obligations. The debt-holders control 82 per cent of the debt securities issued by Dish, the EchoStar pay-TV subsidiary. The agreement being negotiated adds financial flexibility and strategic optionality for the company, including increased flexibility to engage […]
China has lodged applications with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for two massive satellite constellations totalling some 200,000 craft. Key filings include CTC-1 and CTC-2, two networks comprising over 190,000 combined satellites, signalling long-term plans to build massive LEO and Very Low orbital networks. The satellites aim to support commercial, 6G communication, and security needs, […]
Bad weather over Florida delayed the SpaceX launch of a Viasat satellite on April 27th.The satellite, ViaSat-3 F3, will now launch on April 29th, weather permitting. The launch window of 85 minutes opens at 10.13am Florida-time. The satellite will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space […]
It seems that two factions within South Africa’s administration are at each other’s throats. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi’s outburst on April 24th that his patience with regulator ICASA has run out is a clear demonstration that all is not well with South Africa’s supervisors. The spat is understood to refer to the request from SpaceX […]
SpaceX’s floating barges are vital to its routine launch and land operations for its Falcon 9 rockets. SpaceX says the ‘Just read the instructions’ barge has successfully supported 155 landings at sea in 10 years of service. But the barge is not getting a full retirement, just a new lease of life. The vessel is […]
SpaceX filed a complaint to the FCC on April 20th with a list of complaints, starting by saying “Amazon simply refuses to take ‘yes’ for an answer. Amazon consistently rejects any offer to resolve its self-inflicted inability to meet the FCC’s deployment requirements, insisting instead on inflicting maximum harm on the millions of Americans that […]
Elon Musk, despite being born and raised in South Africa, is still stymied in the country as far as his Starlink broadband service is concerned. SpaceX first applied for permission many years ago. Indeed, it was considered such a routine move that Starlink kit was being imported into the nation and some 5,000 users registered […]
One observer has described the launch and deployment cadence of Starlink satellites as “insane”, and praises how SpaceX has launched and deployed an impressive 4,207 Starlink satellites over the past 469 days. Brian Basson, a keen watcher of everything space-related, says that the achievement is considerable and places extreme pressure on rival activities from Amazon […]
Belgian spacetech EDGX has successfully launched its first in-orbit demonstration of STERNA, an AI-powered edge computer for satellite constellations aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-16 mission. With two hosted payloads now in orbit, EDGX enables real-time data processing directly in space, a critical capability for next-generation satellite constellations across commercial, governmental, and defence applications. Through STERNA, the company […]
It has been widely alleged that there’s a high degree of animosity between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Their billionaire status guarantees headlines and their rockets and satellites ensure publicity for their endeavours. But the two are also slugging it out with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). SpaceX and Amazon Leo have filed complaints against […]